4 BUZZBAIT PATTERNS THAT NEVER WENT OUT OF STYLE
THE BUZZ
IS BACK
4 BUZZBAIT PATTERNS THAT NEVER WENT OUT OF STYLE
By Ken Duke
70
Fishing is fashion. You won’ t see the latest tournament jerseys or topwater baits on the runways of Paris, but anglers can be as fickle as any fashionista. Just consider worm colors over the last 40 years. Some of the hottest colors of previous decades – blueberry, motor oil, pumpkin – have basically disappeared today. Only a few – black, watermelon, green pumpkin – have stood the test of time. The bass didn’ t change. They still eat the“ old” colors. It’ s fishermen who changed. The fashion of the day changed them.
It’ s true of lures, too. The spinnerbait was once universally regarded as among the most versatile bass lures available. You can fish it fast or slow, deep or shallow, in heavy cover or in open water. But over the last decade, the spinnerbait has fallen out of – you guessed it – fashion. It’ s been largely discarded in favor of vibrating jigs and square-bill crankbaits.
The buzzbait has undergone a similar change in popularity. After rising to prominence in the 1970s, some of the luster wore off over time. Bass didn’ t just stop attacking buzzbaits, but other lures came along, and anglers opted for Zoom Horny Toads and River2Sea Whopper Ploppers instead of reaching for a buzzbait.
Today, however, the venerable surface agitator is making a comeback – and for good reason. There are things you can do with a buzzbait you just can’ t do with another type of lure – and that pester a bass into biting.
The buzzbait resurgence is real and coming to a fishery near you. To help you get back in the groove, let’ s run down a few great patterns relied upon by four talented pros who know a thing or two about catching bass on buzzbaits.
FLWFISHING. COM I APRIL 2018